Why, in your opinion, did Delpha reject Emilie instead of cherishing her as the only surviving child of the family?
This really was heartbreaking for me to think a mother could do this. However, due to what happened at Emilie’s birth, I don’t think Delpha was in her right mind. What surprised me was that it continued. Possibly she did go “mad” and was never right after the Fort Mims incident. We see later she wasn’t of sound mind. I believe Delpha viewed Emilie as a reminder of everything that had been taken from her. Emilie sure didn’t deserve any of this though and I disagreed with her father saying if he intervened that Delpha would take it out more on Emilie. A parent is to protect their child in all ways they can—and he could have.
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I think Delpha needed a place to put her anger and Emilie was an easy target. I also think she suffered from depression which manifest itself in indifference to and rejection of Emilie. Each time she saw her, she was reminded of all she had lost. Every birthday was an anniversary of the deaths of her other children and she could never overcome that overwhelming feeling of loss and despair.
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Delpha was not mentally sound. She had borne seven children before Emilie. Her husband was frequently absent and had insisted on relocating more than once to start all over again. I think she was barely hanging on by the time they were living with the constant threat of attack at Ft. Dix. The attack that killed everyone including her seven children left Delpha permanently damaged. The fear, the anger and depression destroyed her life. Delpha’s character showed what can happen to people whose emotional strength disappears. Emilie was a victim of her mother’s brokenness.
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Like the others, Delpha had much mental stress not only due to the immediate issues of feeling abandoned by her husband, losing her other children, being attacked by Indians, but also, I always had the feeling that Emilie was the result of rape. With James being gone so much as was emphasized, and Delpha dreading this childbirth especially, and later Emilie always wondering why she did not have the same McCain features - specifically the copper-colored hair - the idea that this was not James’ child came repeatedly to mind.
I can’t imagine Delpha losing seven children at once, especially since they were massacred. I think Delpha blamed Emelie for her not being with her other children. She put up a mental wall against Emilie because of her loss. There weren’t mental health services at that time to help Delpha deal with her other children’ deaths.
The thought that Emilie was the result of rape never occurred to me, but that’s a valid point to add to her actions toward Emilie.
I think she pretty much lost her mind over the horrible death of her other children. She certainly was not thinking straight and Orbison suffered from depression. Her life became to unbearable and needed to end it.
The trauma of losing all of her other children. Having her seventh child in difficult conditions, in a place she did not want to be, her mental health was deteriorating
I agree with you about Delpha not being mentally sound. I don’t see Emilie as a victim, though.
Karen_B1—good catch! My use of the word “victim” was a poor choice since Emilie was adamant to go her own way. That last sentence didn’t belong—she refused to be a victim, but she paid a price for her mother’s mental illness.
I had this thought, too. I can’t decide whether I like that the author kept this vague or if I would have liked more information. Maybe it would have complicated Emilie’s relationship with her father, and maybe that is just too much angst!
@Stephany_W I kept thinking that Emilie’s real father’s identity would be revealed by her grandmother or someone by the end, but it never happened. It leaves me wondering about all the comments about her feeling she didn’t belong and not having the McCain red hair. I read it as foreshadowing that got left in the shadows. Maybe it will come out in the sequel I am predicting 
As the others have said, I think that Delpha had mental health issues. She did not want to be at the fort and was terrified for herself and her children. After listening to the people in the fort perish, she probably could not process the horror. It was awful for Emilie, and her father did not seem to know how to cope with Delpha’s rejection of Emilie.
The massacre of her other children was a scene so profoundly brutal and awful that I could hardly read it. Her treatment of Emilie was deplorable as well, but I’m sure she was no longer “okay” at this point - how could she be? I am sure that none of us can possibly comprehend what this woman endured, and while I like to think I would have cherished that sweet baby who survived, I honestly do not know. This was the hardest part of the book and I still shudder to think of it.
I agree with what others have said. The unimaginable horror of losing all of her children, combined with postpartum depression, likely contributed to a mental illness that Delpha simply could not escape. She was already overtaxed by constant pregnancies and births, and she hated living there; this final trauma was just too much for her to bear. I’m surprised she did not step into that pond much sooner.